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Germany’s K+S is already a thoroughly international operation, and recently boasted its new facilities for potash fertilizer in Vancouver, Canada.

Canadian rival PotashCorp, led by the German chief executive Jochen Tilk, now seem to be returning the favor – with interest:

K+S has become a takeover target for the fertilizer maker PotashCorp from the Canadian province of Saskatchewan, K+S confirmed on Thursday evening after Handelsblatt had reported on the matter.

“K+S is currently assessing the available options; this process is still ongoing,” K+S said in a short statement.

According to information obtained by Handelsblatt from financial sources, the K+S supervisory board is examining an offer estimated to be worth €10 billion, $11.9 billion, including debt.

The takeover bid for the German firm with 14,000 employees has apparently been well prepared by its rival from Canada. Potash would apparently pay more than €40 per K+S share, meaning it would value the company at roughly €10 billion, including debt. Against its current share price, that’s a 40-percent increase. On Friday, K+S shares were up 26 percent at €36.70 at 0943 GMT.

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Handelsblatt is your window to European business and politics. More than 260 journalists in 35 countries are dedicated to this mission. Every day, over a million people read Handelsblatt, the paper of record for the German business community. Handelsblatt is part of Dieter von Holtzbrinck Media, which also owns WirtschaftsWoche, the country’s most-read business weekly.